


Lost and Found

by SunsetScomiche



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Science Bros, Science Bros Secret Santa 2016, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, Trust Issues, and a kitten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-12-29 17:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12090180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunsetScomiche/pseuds/SunsetScomiche
Summary: While out Christmas shopping in New York, Tony finds an abandoned kitten.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Trammel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trammel/gifts).



> Written as a gift for the lovely and insanely talented [Trammel](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Trammel/pseuds/Trammel), as part of Science Bros Secret Santa 2016, which is hosted by the wonderful [@sciencebrosweek](https://sciencebrosweek.tumblr.com/) over on tumblr. I didn’t intend for this to become so self-care oriented. It just kind of did. Here is the [original post](https://sunsetscomiche.tumblr.com/post/154955187080/lost-and-found) from my tumblr. Happy holidays!

Every once in awhile, Bruce likes to get lost in the city. It's something that he hasn't done much since he joined the team, but he feels just as at-home here in the streets as he does in the tower.

He shoulders his way into the crowd, and then trails happily down the sidewalk with no particular path in mind. He is surrounded by people, a side effect of braving New York at Christmastime. He has bundled himself into the thick coat that Tony bought him around this time last year, complete with red mittens and a matching scarf. He thinks of Tony as he huffs a breath into his hands, its heat visible from the chill in the air, and then shoves them deep into his pockets.

Cars pass by, no-doubt filled with people rushing toward every store in hopes of finding the perfect gift. But, their sounds fade away from Bruce’s ears as he walks.

Only a handful of years ago, the team had just begun. Tony had tried valiantly to bring everyone together, and create unity among such a diverse group. He'd bought everyone such nice gifts, and he'd given them all a home in the tower. Bruce watches the pavement beneath him and laughs a little when he recalls how appalled Tony had been when he’d unwrapped Steve’s gift: personalized team phones for everyone, all courtesy of SHIELD. From then on, they'd become a family, and they had endured their battles together.

But perhaps none of them had endured each other’s battles quite like Tony and Bruce had. From the moment they'd stepped into a lab, they'd been side by side, working out solutions, testing new ideas, and watching those ideas explode together. Somewhere along the way, that closeness had developed into trusting each other, telling their darkest secrets, and eventually, falling in love. They still have a lot to work out as a couple, and there are plenty of things Bruce is unsure of, but now more than ever, being with Tony feels like being at home.

Bruce’s eyes refocus on the pavement as a helicopter whirs by overhead. A familiar feeling heaves inside his stomach as he listens to it pass. It leaves him rattled with nerves and a kind of sick anticipation, but he quickly sets the feeling aside and carries on.  

Later, when Bruce’s limbs are both fully satisfied with the peacefulness of being alone and ready to freeze off in the wintry New York air, he feels a familiar buzzing against his chest. He immediately grabs his phone from his pocket and steps off to the side, away from the crowd.

It's a text from Tony, which he had expected, but it's unusual and scary, in that all it reads is, _‘Hurry!’_

Bruce tries to gauge the situation, asking Tony if it's time to suit up, and asks for an address, but he uses the phone’s GPS instead when he's met with, _‘Just hurry!’_

❉


	2. Chapter 2

God, it’s so cold. It’s _so_ damned cold, but Tony can handle it, for Bruce. He was just going out to buy one present. Or two. At least, that’s what he had told himself when he had waded into the ridiculous traffic on a dreary and much too early morning, pointing himself in the direction of the closest and finest stores in town. He knows what Bruce wants for Christmas, but that doesn’t mean he can’t spend a little extra on him, too. Besides, that makes it more fun.

Or, it would, if it weren’t for the amount of people Tony had to wade through to get there. After sitting in the same place for more than twenty minutes, and having exhausted all of his online purchase options, he had abandoned the car to shop on foot, and he had instantly regretted it. Bodies were pushing and shoving and shouting everywhere, strangers’ hands were reaching and grabbing and moving him. All at once, he had become dizzy and disoriented, with visions of the suit spinning out of control flashing before his eyes. Too soon, he had been trying his hardest just to maintain proper breathing.

Finally, he had found an empty alleyway and ducked into it. The way his spine connected with the cool brick behind him felt grounding, and he closed his eyes and huffed out a few deep sighs. Focusing on the calm that was starting to resurface in his chest, he tuned in to the sounds around him once again. For a moment, he thinks he hears a soft whistle in the distance. He remembers that there’s a dog park not far from here and disregards it. Slowly, the panic that had built in his lungs subsides, and he starts feeling his breaths lower, deeper in his body, at a place where they steady him. He soaks them in, looking up at the crisp, gray sky as he inhales, then slowly blows them out. Again, there comes a high pitched whining from within earshot. He squints, wondering what the hell it could be. In a place like New York, who knows. He closes his eyes again, taking one final breath before he considers which store he should head to. Or, to just call in the order from. Then, that same sound rings out, only now it’s long and it’s coming from right near him. Whatever is making it must be scared; the noise sounds pained and afraid. Tony knows those feelings all too well. His eyes shoot open, and he looks around for what it could be.

But there’s nothing. Just a small gate a few feet away, a locked metal door on the adjacent wall, some trash bags sitting near a dumpster, and-

Tony stops, turns back, and watches the bags for a moment. It seems crazy, but he could’ve sworn he’d seen one move. He steps toward it cautiously, trying to get a better view. The early sunlight dips into the small space, and, there- Tony sees it. Something kicking in the bag. It can’t be fighting much, the little movements are too weak, but it’s there. Tony sucks in a breath, and his fingers shakily reach to unwrap the bag. Moments later, he is greeted with a frail, ‘ _meow_.’

 _God_ , it’s so cold, and Tony just wishes that Bruce would _hurry up_.

❉


	3. Chapter 3

Crashing through the door of a midtown veterinarian’s office, Bruce looks around frantically until he sees Tony. He’s bundled into layers of long wool with a satin button-up peeking its way out, and he’s kneeling near an empty chair. As relieved as Bruce is to forego a transformation for this one, his stomach sinks as Tony looks up at him from across the room. There is a sickly pale glow to Tony’s face that Bruce recognizes immediately; Tony has awoken from many a nightmare wearing the same reddened cheeks and sweat-slicked forehead. 

The wind is knocked out of him when Tony plops against his chest, somehow already across the room. Tony nuzzles into the place where Bruce’s neck and shoulder meet, his breaths unsteady and ragged as they surround Bruce’s ears. Bruce gasps quietly as Tony paws his way under Bruce’s coat and his cold fingers meet with Bruce’s bare skin. He hears Tony mumbling, soft little cries that sink into their coats as Bruce wraps his arms around Tony’s shoulder and waist and comforts him in a quiet voice. He tucks his chin over Tony’s shoulder, looking around for any unwanted onlookers as he gently calms Tony’s fears. He’s still very confused, but he has worked out that Tony must’ve found some sort of hurt animal and brought it here. Bruce had wondered where Tony had went that morning; he’d been up even before Bruce had. 

Then, Tony tries, “I- I went to get you a Christmas present, and-”

“Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart,” Bruce quells him in hopes that it will get him to focus on resisting the little sobs that are tearing at Tony’s speech. He looks around and offers, “Why don’t we go sit?”

Tony follows him, still clinging to his side. It causes Bruce’s heart to jump just a little; Tony never acts this way in public.  They sit, and Bruce has Tony take a few breaths, both for Tony and for himself. Then, Tony is back trying to talk again. But this time, he’s making eye contact, and Bruce can’t force himself to look away from the fear and doubt swimming behind Tony’s eyes.

“She- she was so small, Bruce, and she had wire wrapped around her feet and-”

“Tony,” Bruce presses carefully, “Tony. What is she?”

“She’s just a little kitten. She was bleeding so much, I-”

“It’s okay,” Bruce answers with a sincere tone. ”You got her here, Tony. I’m proud of you.”

There’s a little tightening of Tony’s hands around Bruce’s arm, as if in thanks, but then the fear is back in Tony’s eyes again, clear and real. 

“Bruce. What if she doesn’t make it?”

Bruce parts his lips and breathes in, unsure of what to say, but knowing he needs to keep calm. 

“I’m sure she’s-”

Just then, a door opens and Tony’s head shoots up. A woman dressed in a white lab coat, which is adorned with the soft blue emblem of the local office, walks over to them. Bruce stands, along with Tony, whom he notices her eyeing concernedly. 

“She’s fine,” the woman says, and Bruce feels Tony deflate with a heavy sigh of relief.

“But,” she begins with a sharper tone, and Bruce prepares himself. “She’s lost a lot of fluids. You’ll need to feed her often and make certain she gets her medication. She should maintain a proper sleep schedule for at least two months, and we’ll need you to come back then for a wellness check.”  

It is quiet for a moment as Bruce takes the time to process all of it. Afterward, he says, “Thank you.” 

Quietly, as if he is afraid of the answer, Tony asks, “Can we see her?” 

The woman simply turns and heads back toward the door, saying, “Right this way.”    
  


❉


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later, Bruce practically can’t tear Tony away from this kitten. In fact, he has given up trying, except for the ultimatum that she _cannot_ sleep in their bedroom. He knows that the moment it’s in their floor, then it’s in their bed, and not only is that unsafe, but Bruce has already lost.

Of course, that doesn’t stop Tony from having her with him _everywhere_ else. She’s on his laptop, on the staircase, on the sofa, even in the labs! And if Bruce finds one _single_ strand of fur in his chicken curry, so help him-

Any delusions that this would be Bruce’s problem are now totally out the window. Tony feeds the kitten, keeps up with her medicine, makes sure she takes naps, and even pets her softly while she sleeps. It’s sweet; really, it is. But, Bruce is starting to wish Tony didn’t let her get away with quite so much.

Passing by him toward the kitchen that afternoon, Bruce had stopped to watch as Tony stuck his hand out playfully over the little creature. Rolling onto her back and showing her belly, the kitten’s paws had reached for his hand, grabbing on with tiny, sharp claws at Tony’s pinky and the open space of exposed flesh on the side of his palm. Then, she had pulled his hand closer, and Bruce had seen the pinkish red of her tongue before her teeth clamped down on Tony’s forefinger. Tony just smiled, turning the kitten onto her side and letting her release his finger, only to withdraw it and extend his other hand before she was even on her feet. She had done the same with this one, pouncing and clawing at it as if his hand were a spider. By the time he had finally stood up, Tony’s calloused hands had been covered in scratches.  

It’s not so much the playing that bothers Bruce, or even what little harm there is in it. It’s the fact that Tony takes it, content to let her lash out and jump all over him, even roam over him, and take control until he’s having to pry her off of him to fetch the band-aids and a bottle of ointment.

Of course, any mention of this to Tony would no doubt elicit any on a variable scale of reactions, which Bruce is certain ranges in intensity from mildly incredulous humor to scorned anger.

He wonders if perhaps it’s just Tony’s innate parenting style and he should just get over it, but Bruce simply can’t shake the feeling that something must be wrong.

❉


	5. Chapter 5

On a few certain occasions, Bruce has awoken in the middle of the night to a half-empty bed. Usually, these mean that Tony is either restless, and therefore working, or restless, and therefore drinking. Almost always, however, the occasion is not favorable, and Bruce finds himself leaving the bed to find Tony and talk him out of whatever deep, dark hole he's in that night.

But when Bruce turns over in the white sheets, and finds them at this hour clad silver with thick moonlight, and he sees that Tony is gone, his first action is to call on Jarvis. At the very least, it helps to know which way to turn once he's out of the room, and on some nights, Jarvis can practically tell Bruce what to say when he finds Tony.

Tonight, it's a bit different.

As always, Bruce asks, “Jarvis, workshop or kitchen?”

He is surprised to hear, “Neither, sir. Master Stark is currently in the communal area.”

“Commun- what?” Bruce blinks awake, grabbing his glasses from the bedside table and tugging away the sheets.

He wraps up in his thin blue robe and heads down the stairs, hoping to God that Tony hasn't invited anyone over who'll see him dressed like this. His eyes have finally adjusted when he reaches the end of the stairs, only to see Tony sprawled out on the floor in the dark, at eye-level with the sleeping kitten. Bruce’s eyebrows raise when Tony looks up at him with pure obstinance in his eyes. The tips of Tony’s fingers twitch as he opens his mouth to speak, and Bruce’s breath hitches as he watches the ends of Tony’s fingers connect with the kitten’s soft belly.

“Are you _sure_ she can't sleep in our ro-”

Bruce catches himself and whispers, “You’ll wake her!”

But, it's already too late. The little blue eyes slowly start to open, and Bruce sighs as Tony immediately becomes enthralled. Shaking his head, he simply turns and heads toward the kitchen, wondering if there's any coffee.

When Bruce returns to the living area, he is prepared with a full discourse on why Tony needs to go back to bed and allow the poor kitten some sleep, when he is stopped in his tracks. Not only is Tony sprawled out, asleep on the hard tile floor, but he has pulled the kitten right underneath his arm. Bruce closes his parted lips as he hears the gentle purr of the kitten’s breathing mixing with that slight hum of the arc reactor next to her. Turning, Bruce knows he has nothing more for it and heads back to bed.

Of course, if he has to deal with Tony’s loud whining about how sore he is the next morning, that's okay, too. 

❉


	6. Chapter 6

Tony doesn’t know how long he’s been walking around the tower -hours, maybe- just letting the kitten wiggle around in his arms and crawl over his shoulders and follow at his feet. He doesn’t care, either, because it’s oddly relaxing, having no destination and nothing to worry over except her. They’ll be taking her to see the vet again soon, and Tony figures that she at least deserves a tour. 

He talks casually to her, mumbling things like, “And here’s where my lab rats do all their research,” and watching her ears twitch as she looks up at him, or, “No, don’t get too close to that. Here, come here,” as he bends down to scoop her up until they’re on safer ground.

He doesn’t even really register that he’s stepped into one of his side labs; he’s too engrossed in holding her and talking as he paces around the room.

“Boy, I hope Bruce-y lets us keep you, little one. I think...” He looks away and watches the clean, white tiled floor underneath him for a moment, and then returns his eyes to her. “I think you trust us.”

Feeling somewhat tired, Tony circles around one of the empty lab tables and begins to slide down the wall until he’s sitting against it. He props both of his knees toward his chin and tugs at the end of the soft, black jacket he’d thrown on over his red t-shirt that morning until it cups the little kitten like a bed. His arms cover the sides, but he moves them periodically to give her one of his hands to play with. It hasn’t been long, but he trusts that she won’t fall from his lap. 

“But, honey, you need to be careful with that trust,” he tells her. “Because people won’t always take care of you. You have to be strong,” he says as he makes a clawing gesture at her with his hand, and she immediately grabs his fingers and tugs at them as she attempts to judge the right angle of purchase. He smiles, but his thoughts continue on. “People won't always- care for you.”

“People are cruel, and- hell, you know that as well as I do, but. They betray you. They let you believe that you can trust them, and then they just-”

Tony stops for a moment, pressing against the pain in his chest that he recognizes as an unwarranted sob. He doesn’t want to cry. He shouldn’t need it. It’s been too many years of recovery and maturing since Obie had ripped away everything dear to him, broken his trust, and thrown him out onto the pavement. But, he needs to talk about this, to tell this precious little creature that life isn’t always fair, and that sometimes people will care more about themselves than anyone else. He needs to explain that sometimes people think their time is more valuable than their children, and that you have to be careful with your trust, because only a few people are safe.

He  _ has _ to, but he can’t right now, because his favorite jacket has tears running down it and he just wishes that he were stronger.

❉


	7. Chapter 7

Walking down the hall one afternoon, Bruce heard a faint, but familiar sound. He’d stopped to listen, and he’d recognized it immediately. There was a hidden lab in the corridor that he and Tony sometimes used for smaller experiments, but not often. The occasion had been so rare recently that Bruce had almost forgotten the lab was even there. He follows the sound and peeks around the corner, standing just out of view. As he had expected, it was Tony. He’s sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the far wall. He’s mumbling softly to the kitten, as he sometimes does, but Bruce recognizes the tension in the room, built from the weight of this one-sided conversation.

“People won't always- care for you.”

Bruce’s chest pains him a little at that. The appointment for their return visit to the vet is in a week, and Tony knows that they’ll be giving the kitten to a shelter if Bruce decides they can’t keep her. He’s been thinking about it for two days, but he still can’t seem to make up his mind. 

Tony sniffs once, and Bruce looks around the corner again, concerned.  

What he sees startles him, because Tony hasn’t cried like this in  _ at least _ six months. He runs over to Tony’s side, immediately taking his place beside him and pulling him into his arms. All of the comforting phrases Bruce has taught himself come pouring out of his lips in single and double file. His hands stroke caringly over Tony’s arms as Tony folds himself into the embrace, still sobbing.

His breathing is erratic, and it tears at Bruce’s heart to hear Tony try to speak through all of his tears.  

“They threw her away. Like she was nothing. Trash.”

And that’s when Bruce gets it. He feels as if he’s just been dropped into the ocean wearing an anchor, because he finally realizes that  _ that _ is what this is all about. 

This is everything that Obie did to Tony. The isolation, the abandonment, the loss of trust. Everything. 

His fingers wrap tighter around Tony’s shoulder, and he takes a steadying breath as a sick feeling attempts a rise inside of him. For just a moment, he wants nothing more than to kill that man. Again. But, he laid his anger issues to rest years ago, and he isn’t going to let them get in the way of loving Tony. The kitten stirs in Tony’s lap, and Bruce looks down at her. Her blue eyes now look familiar. They’re brimming with hope and expectancy, tempered with the doubt forged by her past experiences and open like a wound. They’re the same way Tony’s eyes had been when they’d first met. 

Bruce continues to talk gently as Tony starts to calm down, but his hands never leave Tony’s side. Once or twice, he reaches a free hand over to pet the kitten, and she welcomes it, slowly starting to cuddle into his touch with each gentle pass over her fur. The act seems to strengthen Tony, who Bruce catches looking at them and giving a tiny, wishful smirk.

A minute or two later, Tony sniffles a little and straightens his back to look up at Bruce. He doesn’t apologize for crying, or try explain himself. With Bruce, he knows that it’s not necessary. He just looks up into Bruce’s eyes and tries for a smile.

Bruce doesn’t think his heart can handle much more, but that’s when Tony asks him in the most soft voice, “We can keep her, right?” 

Bruce just pulls him closer. “Yeah, Tony. Yeah. We can keep her.”

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Prompt:_  
>  Established relationship. Fluff and angst. This might be too detailed so just use what you want from it: Bruce is surprised when Tony sends him a message to meet him at a veterinarian’s office. He gets there and finds that Tony has saved a kitten that was tied up and thrown in a dumpster. Bruce thinks it’s cute of course but in the next few days sees that Tony seems overly-attached and worried about the kitten (maybe he wakes up in the middle of the night to find Tony on the floor with the kitten, checking it’s ok or sleeping with it). Tony finally admits “They threw her away. Like she was nothing. Trash.” Like Obie did to Tony. Tony opens up about Obie (maybe he hasn’t talked much about it before) and Bruce comforts him. Feel free to add cute scenes with the kitten if you want.”


End file.
